Friday, July 31, 2009

Homeward Bound

[illustration: many things are better in Paris, but at least one thing is worse: the clowns are frightening. Always frightening. Here is one at the Paris Plages, the stretch of the Seine that has been transformed into a summer beach]

by J J Cohen

All good things ...

After a month abroad I return to the US tomorrow. Each segment of the journey went well: I was happy with my Leeds keynote and the conference itself; Italy (or the small portion I saw of it) was fantastic; and Paris has been ... well, Paris. Not an eternal city, but -- from the vantage point of our apartment here on the rue Claude Bernard -- a city of everyday lives, of easygoing camaraderie as well as people happy in their solitude. The café has allowed Parisians to perfect the art of beings at ease with oneself. I will miss it here.